Tuesday, February 7, 2017 — 3
News
michigandaily.com — The Michigan Daily
MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
Students walk from table to table at the LSA Social Impact Fair in the Union on Monday.
M AKE A DIFFE RE NCE
results are used and anonymity
of participants. He said faculty
members are often reluctant
to
fill
out
demographic
information and surveys in
general because they feel they
may be identified based on
responses.
“What happens is, when you
don’t know me, that’s a silent
voice,” he said. “And why you
don’t know about me is because
I know if you ask about me,
you’re going to know it’s me. So
if you’re asking me to evaluate
my dean, this is one cell size
away from knowing who sent
that evaluation in.”
However,
Linderman
said
when conducting departmental
climate
surveys,
ADVANCE
emphasizes high participation
and anonymity when conveying
results.
“ADVANCE is outside of
the unit, so we’re hoping that
makes people understand that
we’re not part of the unit …
we’re outside,” she said. “We
do not give results that are
identifiable … we work really
hard to make sure individuals
are not identifiable, we are very
concerned about that, as you
are.”
Robert Sellers, vice provost
for
Equity
and
Inclusion,
also discussed his duties as
chief diversity officer at the
meeting, a position created last
October in conjunction with
University
President
Mark
Schlissel’s Diversity, Equity
& Inclusion plan, to oversee
the
implementation
of
the
strategic plan. He said these
efforts are vital for achieving
the University’s mission.
“When
I
think
about
DEI, it’s fundamental to our
proposition as a University;
it’s absolutely consistent with
our mission as an institution,”
Sellers said.
Sellers
responded
to
questions about the place of
standardized testing in the
evaluation of graduate school
candidates and the interaction
between
Proposal
2
and
recruitment techniques.
Ortega wondered how the
practices implemented with
the DEI plan might be better
communicated to faculty.
“I guess the bigger question is
how faculty are being engaged
in these conversations, so we
can get some of these agendas
out and pay attention to them,”
he said.
Sellers said he has held
various formal and informal
meetings with diverse groups
of faculty members to foster
discussion
about
University
policies on diversity, citing
conversations related to the
extent of Proposal 2.
“One of the effects of Prop 2
is this false sense that we can’t
do anything, and people being
afraid of moving forward,” he
said. “There’s a lot of things
we can do, we just have to be
careful and be lawful.”
SACUA
From Page 1
warned the cleaning of the
rug may not ensure “tahara,” a
state of purity and cleanliness
required to touch the Quran,
and advised that students not
pray there.
The ISA and the Muslim
Student Association recently
released a statement via email,
writing the damage done to
the room affected students of
all different faiths.
“As practitioners of Islam
and students at the University
of
Michigan,
campus
reflection rooms represent
a key dimension of spiritual
wellness and facilitate the
practice of our faith wherever
our day may take us,” it read.
“Campus reflection rooms are
also an inclusive space, shared
among students of all religions
and spiritualities; including
Christian, Jewish, Buddhist
non-religious, spiritual etc.
Safeguarding our places of
personal, spiritual and faith
based prayer and reflection is
integral to fostering a diverse
and tolerant Michigan. Along
with the support of University
administration, we invite our
peers and colleagues to stand
and act in support of not
only Muslim students, but all
affected communities at this
time.”
According to Brown, DPSS
will not likely send out a crime
alert, as there is no apparent
threat to student safety.
RUG
From Page 1
also been working with the
Ann Arbor Police Department
on the investigation as well
as increasing the number of
DPSS officers patrolling the
area.
There have been four
armed robberies in the past 10
days, all of which have been
south of Central Campus.
A $1,000 reward is being
offered for information that
leads to the arrest of those
responsible for the crime.
DPSS
From Page 1
be confirmed, because of the
projection that Vice President
Mike
Pence
will
cast
the
tie-breaker vote in a Senate
otherwise facing a 50-50 split,
with all 48 members of the
Democratic caucus and two
Republicans opposing DeVos.
DeVos’ confirmation has been
at the center of controversies
surrounding the qualifications
of Trump’s Cabinet selections.
DeVos
sparked
particular
concern upon responding to
questions regarding Title IX at
her hearing in January. When
asked if she would preserve the
Title IX guidance, her response
was deemed ambiguous.
“If confirmed, I look forward
to
understanding
the
past
actions and current situation
better, and to ensuring that
the intent of the law is actually
carried out in a way that
recognizes both the victim … as
well as those who are accused,”
DeVos said.
Upon
further
prompting,
DeVos
said
it
would
be
“premature”
to
affirm
her
commitment to the preservation
of the guidance at that time.
As
for
the
University’s
investigation, in an interview
with the Daily at the end of
January, University President
Mark
Schlissel
said
the
University has been cooperating
with the OCR, but has not been
apprised of the results of the
investigation.
He said the University is
looking forward to receiving
the results so it can continue
to foster a safe environment for
students and support survivors
of sexual misconduct.
“We’re very anxious to have
the
investigation
resolved
to get whatever advice or
guidance the Office of Civil
Rights wants to offer so that we
can do as good a job as possible
making our campus safe,” he
said. “We’re committed to the
concepts of Title IX — to have
a workplace, a study place, an
environment that is free of
discrimination
and
adverse
aspects so that everyone has
an opportunity to learn … I’m
always committed to advice
from OCR or other places about
how we can do it better. But we
haven’t heard anything. We’re
still waiting.”
Schlissel
pointed
to
a
University
campus
climate
survey administered on sexual
misconduct in January 2015 as
proof of his commitment to the
issue. He said the University is
utilizing different methods to
address and fix the problem.
“We’re
approaching
it
through educational programs,
we’re
approaching
it
by
focusing our efforts where the
survey told us the highest
incidents of misconduct were,”
he said. “We’re approaching
it by combating the linkage
with alcohol overuse, which
is involved in many episodes
of sexual misconduct, and we
put out in July a year ago a
revised set of policies for how
we investigate and adjudicate
accusations of misconduct.”
The
updated
sexual
misconduct
policy
Schlissel
referenced went into effect
last July. Changes included an
expanded, more encompassing
definition of sexual misconduct,
as well as adjustments to the
definition of consent and the
sanctioning process.
Though the University plans
to keep its policy as is, with
the impending changes in the
Department
of
Education,
the fate of the investigation is
unknown.
In an email to the Daily,
University spokeswoman Dana
Elger said the University is not
going to speculate, as things at
the national level are still in
flux, though she reaffirmed the
investigation is still underway.
Mark Rosenbaum, a former
University law professor, has
worked with the American Civil
Liberties Union and is now the
director of the Opportunity
Under Law Project at Public
Counsel, a nationwide pro bono
civil rights office. Rosenbaum
said that, though the authority
of Title IX is firmly established,
it is too soon to tell what
will happen in regard to the
investigations.
“Title IX is Title IX is Title
IX; the law has been precisely
what it is,” he emphasized.
“Although
the
Obama
administration was the most
vigorous enforcer of Title IX of
any administration, where that
goes from here, I don’t think we
know.”
He said DeVos did not seem
to exhibit familiarity with Title
IX or express any commitment
to its enforcement. He hopes
and
expects
the
Trump
administration’s
commitment
will be as “resolute” as that of
the Obama administration.
Rosenbaum noted that by
way of investigations and other
related efforts, the Department
of Education publicized these
issues and produced awareness
at the student and campus level.
He
said
he
thinks
this
contribution will be a driving
force
in
addressing
sexual
misconduct, regardless of what
happens.
“Not having the United States
Department of Education out
there is clearly not a good thing,
but I don’t think you can reverse
the momentum that the Obama
administration
created
with
respect to enforcement of Title
IX,” he said. “I think even if the
Trump administration turns us
back on Title IX, I don’t think
it’s going to get buried under
the sand.”
Engineering
freshman
Lincoln Merrill, publicity chair
of the University’s chapter of
College Republicans, claimed
the
Obama
administration
received flak for overstepping
its bounds.
“The
law
prohibits
discrimination by sex or gender
in an educational environment,
that’s pretty much what it
says,” he said. “There’s an
argument
that
the
Obama
administration’s interpretation
of it regarding sexual assault is
a bit of stretch when it comes
to the law itself. That’s not to
say opponents of it do not care
about sexual assault.”
Merrill said though sexual
assault is clearly a problem, he
believes the law is referring
more to what is happening in
classrooms and on the athletic
field, or discrimination in the
sense of not allowing someone
to take a class or play a sport.
He said DeVos did not confirm
a
reversal
of
the
Obama
administration’s interpretation
of the law, but said she would
continue to look into it.
He
said
he
felt
sexual
misconduct
investigations
conducted by the University
should be expedited, saying
that,
some
sexual
assault
claims are not entirely true,
though this is very rare. He also
said the legal system is a more
appropriate, efficient means for
for addressing sexual assault
allegations.
“I think if you’re going to
find out who is right and who
is wrong, you should really go
through the police department,
the court and the legal process
— not the University itself,” he
said. “I don’t think that people
who are working here for
educational issues should have
to spend all their time on these
long investigations that law
enforcement specializes in and
is there to do.”
Holly
Rider-Milkovich,
former director of the Sexual
Assault
Prevention
and
Awareness Center, who oversaw
the implementation of the new
sexual misconduct policy, said
in a March interview that a
primary reason the University
expanded its policy — and,
along the same lines, sexual
misconduct investigations —
was to be compliant with the
Clery Act and Title IX, both of
which regulate sexual assault
reporting and investigations at
public universities.
Rackham
student
Nicole
Bedera
is
one
of
several
researchers
working
on
a
project that looks at how
colleges
have
responded
to guidance about how to
interpret
Title
IX
in
the
context of their campuses.
In an email to the Daily,
Bedera
wrote
she
expects
the Trump administration to
respond differently to Title
IX issues than the Obama
administration did.
“The Trump administration
does
not
have
the
same
commitment
to
addressing
campus sexual assault that
the
Obama
administration
did,”
she
wrote.
“Multiple
key players in the Trump
administration,
including
Betsy
DeVos,
have
spoken
against the interpretation of
Title IX currently used by the
Department of Education. Title
IX will likely remain on the
books as written, just as it did
in the Obama administration,
but I suspect it won’t be
enforced the same way it has
been in recent years in regards
to sexual assault.”
She continued by stating
she
sees
two
potential
scenarios. She thinks the new
administration
will
create
its own policies around Title
IX or stop enforcing existing
policies.
“If
the
Department
of
Education
stops
enforcing
existing policies, there might
be
enough
momentum
on
college campuses to maintain
the changes made in the past
two years and some campuses
may even have a strong enough
commitment to the fight to
continue
to
innovate
and
support survivors — especially
if student activists continue to
put pressure on their schools,”
she wrote. “But the schools
that are still failing survivors
will have no reason to improve
services.”
She added, alternatively, if
the administration creates new
policies, survivors will likely
not receive the same gains.
“The
administration
has
hinted that they don’t see the
value in many policies aimed
at preventing violence against
women and offering survivors
reswources
for
recovery,
including the Violence Against
Women’s
Act
and
support
for
Planned
Parenthood,”
she wrote. “I can’t imagine
the administration would be
any more sympathetic to the
struggle for safety on campus.”
TITLE IX
From Page 1
The
administration
has hinted that
they don’t see the
value in many
policies aimed
at preventing
violence against
women and
offering survivors
resources
limit
local
officials
from
cooperating
with
federal
immigration
officials.
The
amendment, which passed by a
10-1 vote, was opposed only by
Councilmember Jane Lumm (I–
Ward 2), who expressed fears of
losing state or local funding.
According
to
City
Administrator
Howard
Lazarus,
however,
the
amendment doesn’t jeopardize
any state or federal funds the
city of Ann Arbor currently
receives.
“Nothing
that
we
do
requires us to enforce federal
immigration laws,” he said
in regards to Warpehoski’s
amendment. “That does not put
us at any risk right now.”
Ann Arbor resident Roger
Kuhlman opposed the order,
saying the “hysteria” about the
executive order doesn’t help
America, but “incites public
hate.”
“It really bothers me when
I hear local liberal Democratic
politicians say that we must
stand with and support the
illegal alien community and
possibly establish a sanctuary
city here for criminal illegal
aliens,” he said. “I really don’t
understand that. Do you want
to bring people in like the
illegal alien thug out in San
Francisco who murdered Kate
Steinle? Do you want to reward
illegal aliens for knowingly and
willingly breaking many U.S.
laws?”
Kuhlman
was
referring
to the accidental 2015 fatal
shooting of Kathryn Steinle by
Francisco Sanchez, who had
been deported from the United
States five times prior to the
shooting.
Ann Arbor resident Julie
Quiroz expressed to the council
her wish that the city take
action that is more than just
symbolic.
“To keep us safe, we need
to evolve our local policies
to
make
our
cities
real
sanctuaries for all residents,
not cancel them because of the
illegitimate president’s latest
actions,” she said. “That means
a commitment to separating
police from federal immigration
enforcement, and addressing
the policing that funnels Black
and other residents to jail and
places criminal charges on
immigrant residents.”
Councilmember
Sumi
Kailasapathy
(D–Ward
1),
addressing Quiroz’s concerns,
assured residents the resolution
was the first step of many the
city would be taking.
“I just want to make sure
that all of you are aware of the
fact that the resolution that
we’re bringing forward today
is just the first step toward
additional steps that at least
a couple of us are seriously
thinking of doing,” she said.
“At the national level, it has
been really hard for all of us
the last three weeks. But the
kind of input that we have
got from you, that makes me
feel that we will survive as a
community.”
CITY
From Page 1
To keep us safe,
we need to evolve
our local policies
to make our cities
real sanctuaries
for all residents,
not cancel them
We invite our
peers and
colleagues to
stand and act in
support of not
only Muslim
students, but
all affected
communities at
this time